


And I'm here (home, home)

by shayDHo



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Monster Hunters, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff and Angst, One Shot, Secret Relationship, Sleepy Cuddles, i wrote this at 2am so if you see errors, look away, no mentions of fighting tho, sneak peek maybe? idk, they're in the middle of a war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:28:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29923776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shayDHo/pseuds/shayDHo
Summary: It was the middle of winter in the small pocket of reality that the temple and its gardens occupied. Flurries twirled around the estate and covered everything in various shades of blue and white. Handong's red hair was a flaming beacon in the middle of the garden as she stands by the pond, her blood red parasol folded in her hand.
Relationships: Han Dong | Handong/Lee Gahyeon
Kudos: 18





	And I'm here (home, home)

**Author's Note:**

> possible triggers: mention of injury, slightly strong language
> 
> If there's something I missed, do let me know. English isn't my first language. Mistakes are all mine.
> 
> Title taken from "And I'm Here" Goblin OST.

The wind chimes around the temple complex sang their mellow tunes with the rustling of the leaves. It was the middle of winter in the small pocket of reality that the temple and its gardens occupied. Flurries twirled around the estate and covered everything in various shades of blue and white. Handong's red hair was a flaming beacon in the middle of the garden as she stands by the pond, her blood red parasol folded in her hand.

The temple's pond was an unusual one. It never froze over in the winter and seemed to continue sustaining the life in it even in the hottest of summers. The lilies, cat tails, its numerous koi fishes, and buzzing insects were out of place with the monochromatic background that the other parts of the garden provided.

Handong hated this pond. It was everything Handong despised: constant, never changing, and always brimming with life like it was spring the whole year round. And despite being a priestess who breathed life, she hated the pond for it. It didn't help that Handong was forever bound to it; forced to sustain its magic with hers, protect it's waters and the life forms it housed from intruders and evil spirits that attempt to infect its purity from time to time. But Handong wasn't here to glare daggers at the pond.

She gripped the handle of her parasol tighter and adjusted its weight on her hands. Any moment now, Handong sighed.

And just as her cloud of breath evaporated, a purple portal opened right above the pond. From the small opening, a black haired woman stepped out and promptly fell towards the water. It was routine for Handong by now, how she would open her parasol, hold it to cover her head, and run on top of the crystalline waters to catch the falling figure. With a small 'oof' from the latter, she clung to Handong like a koala until she managed to land on the other side of the pond.

"Hey, Handong!" Gahyeon greeted her with her brightest smile that showed her teeth and crinkled her eyes. She was as bright as the sun when she smiled, and with her welcome weight and warmth that she gives through her embrace, Gahyeon was another contrast to the white garden.

Handong grunted, or whatever a gentle being such as she could make as one, as a response and moved to put Gahyeon down to the ground. Gahyeon, however, tightened her hold around the priestess's neck and waist with a whiny no. The priestess just sighed again and fixed her hold under Gahyeon's thighs. Like what she did when she caught the bubbly woman, she leaped towards the pond and ran on top of its waters. Only on this trip, she was slower and gracefully took her time reaching the other side. By the time Handong's sandalled feet landed on the snow, Gahyeon already has her head buried on the crook of her neck, her warm breath tickling the sensitive skin there.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Handong whispered, just like she always did when she landed. She felt Gahyeon shook her head, like always, and Handong proceeded to walk towards the temple with Gahyeon on her arm while the other held the parasol over their heads.

This wasn't new to Handong. She would wait for Gahyeon's portal by the pond every time, and she would catch her right before the soles of her boots touch the water of the pond without fail. Gahyeon wouldn't let go of her, and she would carry her back to the temple. Gahyeon wasn't light by all means. Her training as a hunter made her bulk up and the energy she consumes every time she uses her portals made her eat portions enough to feed 5 families. Handong, with her lean frame and long limbs hidden underneath her temple robes, wouldn't have been able to carry her like this without breaking her back but Handong was special.

Magic, even the most holy ones, is finite. At a young age, the lesson to never fully rely on her magic was drilled into her head. Years of gruelling training under her father's iron fist later, she could carry Gahyeon on her back as if she was just a sack of feathers and not a buffed-up war machine.

Stepping inside the temple estate just beyond the moon gates, she folded her parasol, put it aside for the helpers to get later, and carried a now sleepy Gahyeon to her chambers. Handong made sure her steps were near silent and would not disturb the sleeping woman in her arms as she walked down the hall. On her way, she would bow her head slightly to greet the monks and temple helpers that she would meet. Used to the sight of their priestess carrying a sleeping Gahyeon, their eyes would twinkle with fondness before they bow their heads to Handong and go on their way.

Arriving at her chambers, she once again went through the motions of another routine: lay Gahyeon on her bed as gently as she could without waking her up, she would wake up anyway and cling to Handong's neck but she would slowly go back to sleep as the priestess's warms her. Handong would then slowly escape from Gahyeon's embrace and stare at how the light from the lanterns would caress her round and sharp features. The priestess would turn on her room's built in heating system, grab some blankets from the closet, and tuck Gahyeon in. After making sure the woman was comfortable (she always was), Handong would shed her furs, change her robes to her night gown, and climb under the covers to spoon Gahyeon. Like routine, Handong would fall asleep after three breaths.

*****

The length of Gahyeon's stay varied from a handful of hours to a couple of months but never a year. Her longest stay was for 3 months when she fractured her femur and used it as an excuse to "go back to her parents' house" that to this day, boggled Handong's mind at how easily her teammates bought the excuse. Handong had a mini heart attack when she saw Gahyeon stepping out of her portal with a cast on her left leg. She fussed over Gahyeon all throughout her stay, the temple population spoiling the fox rotten with gifts, and food made from the fresh produce brought to the temple.

They've been seeing each other like this since that fateful mid summer's night 4 years ago. Gahyeon's teammates and handlers were none the wiser, both to her sporadic escapades to a hidden temple in the mountains of Wuhan and her heritage. But the pair made it work, even before Gahyeon mastered her portals.

Before having a firm grasp on the art of portals and gateways, Gahyeon would send her letters, postcards from whatever place her missions would take her, sometimes she would send small packages filled with preserved flower petals, flower seeds, and whatever trinket the younger woman would pick up that would always have a note that said, _'reminds me of you.'_

Handong was not one for gifts. Having been isolated from other humans save from the monks and the helpers, the act of giving someone a material thing out of affection was a stranger concept. The patrons from the village would send gifts to the temple, sure, but they were for worship and for the gods unlike Gahyeon's that were a piece of the woman's heart given freely for Handong to keep. Not one to be outdone, the priestess would leave simple tokens in the pockets of Gahyeon's clothes or bags everytime she visits. One of those small gifts was the dangling earring on the younger woman's ear, it's other half clipped on Handong's.

It was a lazy day that day. There wasn't much to do around the temple, the animals living in the forest that surrounded the compound were in their winter-induced slumber, and the wind chimes continued to play their mellow tune as the snow fell outside Handong's room.

Too tired from her mission, Gahyeon has her head on Handong's lap, enjoying the way her fingers ran through her hair and slightly massage her scalp. She breathes in deeply and she smells the faint scent of vanilla, mint, and Handong. The priestess was reading through a page in a book given to her by Gahyeon a few months back when she felt her turn and face her on her lap.

"Hyunjin knows."

Handong lets the words sit on her head for a while and puts down her book after clipping a bookmark on the page. She brought her hand back to its post on Gahyeon's head and continued its motions.

"She wouldn't tell anyone. She promised."

Handong has not met any of Gahyeon's teammates from the organization. She knew them fron the stories Gahyeon would tell her and from the pictures she kept on her phone. She knew that Hyunjin was a peculiar character in the group of peculiars that is Gahyeon's team. For the younger woman to say with such sincerity that this Hyunjin would not betray her trust, Handong's heart eased a little. Before she could ask what exactly Hyunjin knew, Gahyeon spoke up again.

"I knew from the get-go that she was a werewolf. It wouldn't do her good to expose another supernatural in an organization filled with people who kills them for a living." Gahyeon slowly got up from Handong's lap only for her to sit on them and face the woman with a smile. "Plus, I already told her I'd try to help her find her sisters. I think I wouldn't worry about getting exposed ever."

Handong moved her hand from the top of Gahyeon's head to cup the fox's cheek. She rubs lightly her cheekbones and the woman on her lap leans into her touch.

_"I trust you,"_ the touch seemed to say.

After a moment of basking in Handong's gentle touch, Gahyeon continued telling the priestess what had happened to her the past 5 months she was away.

"... and we barely managed to not have Dami and Jungeun meet the other immortals. Do you know how hard it was to continue acting like I didn't know that they were there in the first place?" Gahyeon pouted. "Like, I know Gowon and Yves were good at gathering intel but I didn't know they were THAT close to Moonbyul's and Bora's locations. Can you believe that the Church were hiding these girls in their arsenal? Damn, now I know why that friend of yours keeps tabs on them."

"Vivi," Handong corrects Gahyeon. "I really wouldn't expect less from her. They have her aunts in their dungeons and she's been trying to get them out for years now."

Gahyeon hummed an affirmative and gently pushed Handong on her back so she could snuggle on chest. Handong's hand instinctively went to the woman's head, waving through her dark tresses.

"Do you think that Yeojin kid could get them out?"

"I hope so."

A heavy silence settled in the room. As talkative Gahyeon was, being with Handong made her appreciate these silences more. They soothed her racing, anxious heart from all the adrenaline and blood it would pump whenever she was on a mission. Gahyeon had been in this for a decade now and with the growing tensions between the supernaturals, the hunters, and the Church, she was slowly straining herself. She took in three rises of Handong's chest before she breaks the silence.

"I am tired, Handong." _Of this war. Of this burden. Of injustice._

Handong heard the unspoken words from Gahyeon's sentence. She kissed the top of Gahyeon's head and continued to comb her fingers through her hair.

"I know, Gahyeon. I know."

**Author's Note:**

> First fic for dc woohh !!
> 
> I honestly thought there would be more gahdong fics but there's so little that I had to write, albeit self-indulgent, one. 
> 
> This is a snippet of sorts from a bigger AU I have in my drafts right now but I want to put this out there first before anything else because I just love this ship so much. 
> 
> Comments are really appreciated <3


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